And the truth is
by Mist Emoun Tains
Summary: Ron is staying with Hermione for a week until they head to the new headquarters, but the first night Ron is there he does something that could destroy their visit, or answer their prayers. One shot


Hey everyone! I thought of this while watching Shrek Two the other night. I hope you like it!

Hermione sat anxiously downstairs. He heart was racing. Any moment Ron would be arriving. Any moment he would appear in her fireplace, probably covered in ash but she didn't mind! As long as he was here and safe, she was happy.

After merely asking, her parents allowed her to have Ron over the entire week before they left to the new headquarters. It wasn't just that it was Ron who'd be staying over, she felt safer having another magical person around, someone who knew as much of what was going on as she had, someone who had been through all of this with her.

And the fact that is was Ron didn't hurt.

Harry was required to stay at the Dursleys until members of the Order came to retrieve him. She and Ron had, of course, been writing to him, but there letters had been even more vague than those of last summer and she was afraid of what his reaction would be.

There was no sense in worrying about it now. Ron would be arriving at any moment. They'd deal with Harry later.

Both of her parents were at work at the moment, so she was left alone. How she hated the creaking of the house. It only led her to think of who or what could be lurking outside her doors. She listened intently to the intense silence.

The phone rang.

Startled, she headed over to the phone. "Hello? Oh hey Mum! What? No, I haven't. But—alright. I will. I love you too! Bye, Mum!"

The dishwasher. She had forgotten to unload it. She'd just do it quickly before Ron came.

But, Ron had already come.

"Hello? 'Mione?"

How great it was to hear his voice again! "Hey! Just a second! I'm coming!" She ran from the kitchen to the living room, throwing her arms around her dear ash-covered friend. "It's so good to see you, Ron."

Ron blushed madly, but then put his arms around her as well. "It's great to see you too, 'Mione."

She let go of them. An odd moment of silence occurred when their eyes met. "Well, just go ahead and put your stuff in my room. It's upstairs; it should be easy to find. I've got to finish something really quickly, so I'm meet you up there in a minute."

Ron gathered his things, and with some direction from Hermione, headed up the stairs. This was the first time he had been to her house. It was huge! What must she think when she's at his house?

When he finally reached the top of the stairs, he looked down both sides of the hall. She said it would be easy to find, but how it would be, he wasn't sure. To the right he could see a light and decided to head in that direction.

His heart was pounding, though he wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it had to do with the fact he had been greatly looking forward to this week, a week he would spend entirely with Hermione.

He entered the room, which had been lit, finding it was indeed Hermione's. Her room was very large, at least twice the size of his, with light purple walls and few shelves decorated with her old childhood toys. Her Hogwarts trunk sat inconspicuously at the foot of her bed. A bookcase stood tall, crammed with books of all sorts, both muggle and magic.

He set down his things over in a corner. What to do now? Hermione said she would be up in a minute. Close to her bed was a small dark table. He noticed a book was set on it, and, not thinking of anything else to do, went to see what book it was. "I wonder what she's reading now," he thought aloud as he picked the book up.

Opening to the first page, he soon realized it was not a book as he had thought, but rather a diary; Hermione's diary. "I shouldn't be reading this," he thought, but his thought's went unheard, as he uncontrollably turned to page where the marker was set.

Wednesday, 10:15 p.m.

Dear Diary,

I keep thinking about that night at the Department of Mysteries. I'm still having nightmares about it. ("Poor 'Mione, he thought.") Mainly I keep finding myself thinking back to when Ron was attacked. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about it. What would I do if I lost him? Or anyone for that matter?

Friday, 1:25 a.m.

Dear Diary,

Another nightmare about losing Ron. Oh I'm scared now! I hope he's ok! Should I write to him? If I send my letter now it will surely get there by morning. Oh I'm acting ridiculous again. It was only a dream! Goodnight diary.

Friday again, 1:27 a.m.

Dear Diary,

It was only a dream, wasn't it? Oh, I had better write to him. (Ron remembred getting that letter.)

Friday, 12:37 p.m.

Dear Diary,

I received a letter from Ron again. H's fine. What a relief! You know diary, I really miss him, really I do.

Everything at the Department of Mysteries has made me realize how short life is, and how important it is to let the people you care about know how special they are to you. Now, if only I could do it.

Thursday, 5:32 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Sorry I haven't written in a while. I must tell you the good news! Ron will be coming tomorrow to stay for an entire week before we go to the new headquarters. One entire week! Oh I'm so excited! I better go clean up my room!

Thursday, 6:15 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Everything is clean and tidy! Oh dear, it's to clean! Maybe I should mess it up a bit so he won't tease me too much. Yes, I'll do that. (Ron chuckled at Hermione's silliness.)

Thursday, 9:43 p.m.

Dear Diary,

I can hardly sleep I'm so excited! Ron Weasley will be at my house all this next week! I could almost dance with excitement! Maybe I'll finally get the courage to let him know how I really feel about him.

Thursday, 9:47 p.m.

Dear Diary,

Oh who am I trying to fool? I'm Hermione the bookworm, the know-it-all. Ron would never love me. But I certainly love him. Goodnight, diary.

"Ron?" He jumped. Hermione was coming! He slammed shut her diary and set it down on the table, hoping she wouldn't notice. She entered. "I see you found my room." Noticing Ron stiff composure and nervous facial expression, she looked at him quizzically. "Why is my diary over there?" She gasped/ "You didn't read it, did you?"

Ron's eyes grew wide. She had noticed! "N-no! Of course not!"

"Then why is your hand still on it?"

Ron looked down. Indeed his hand was still on Hermione's diary. Imedidatly he snatched his hand from the diary, scrambling to think of an excuse. "Er—"

"How much did you read?"

"I—"

"How much?"

"O—only a little."

"What part?"

"Just the last—few days."

Hermione's face began to turn red; Ron wasn't sure if she was angry or embarrassed. "I can't believe you! How could you?"

Ron couldn't answer her. There wasn't an excuse. He shouldn't have read her diary; it wasn't fair to her. Faint traces of tears appeared in her eyes. She turned around and headed for the door.

"Hermione, I'm sorry!"

"Just don't, Ron."

"Wait!"

Hermione stopped at the door, her back facing him. This is when he would tell her he didn't' feel the same and he felt they should just be friends. This is when things would become weird between them. This is when their friendship would fall apart.

"What," she asked as if she didn't already know.

"Come on, Ron." He thought to himself. "Set things right."

"The truth is," he began, "I'm really excited about this week too."

Hermione held her breath. Had a glimmer of hope appeared?

"And I was hoping this week that maybe I could find the courage to say…"

Hermione slowly turned to face him. "To say what?"

Ron took a deep breath. "The courage to say that I love you too."

Hermione froze, unsure if her ears were playing tricks on her. "D-did you just say what I think you said?"

"It depends," responded Ron. "Do you feel the way I think you feel?" Hermione still stood in disbelief. Ron tried again. "I love you, 'Mione, even if you are a know-it-all and your room is abnormally clean."

Hermione chuckled. "I love you too, Ron."

Ron held out his arms and pulled her into a warm embrace. Now that he had finally said it, he never wanted to stop. He leaned in and kissed her. "I love you."


End file.
